Legacy Anew
by Super Vegito 2
Summary: I have led many to their deaths in my vying of peace. I became a brother and enemy. Destroyed the Tree of Life. Slain gods and goddesses. I have created and destroyed worlds and ascended to a god formed from two. My name has lost all meaning to me. I have lost who I am, but I will reform and lay down the new tracks towards tomorrow. This is my Legacy Anew. Time Travel AU.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I neither own nor need to own Naruto.

* * *

Two gods battled against one another within the Valley of the End. Their powers were beyond mere Shinobi now. The powers of the legendary God of Shinobi, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, was running through them like water.

The two young men, while not completely matured, were the most powerful Shinobi alive, following in the footsteps of their very own transmigration's original forms, Indra and Ashura. The world had been rendered asunder, now nothing but a wasteland filled with the trees of Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Haggard and heaving, the last of the Uchiha and truest descendent of Indra stared down at the young man who was his rival and brother in all but blood. The one who was the only obstacle stopping him from achieving a revolution. His clothes, which had been pristine, were torn and caked in blood; blood that belonged to both him and his friend.

His right eye swirled into a deep onyx, cementing the fact that his chakra was heavily depleted. His left eye, which was the unique six tomoe Rinnegan, was granted to him by Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths. It lay closed in order to conserve energy.

He breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath. The two brothers had fought against each other in this exact same place. Though now unrecognisable, it was once known as the 'Valley of End.' Their first battle paled in comparison to the current one.

No; unlike the old one, this one would decide the fate of the world—the fate that the two gods would deal it out to—depending on who won and who lost.

Sasuke knew that to achieve his goal—his revolution—that he'd have to kill his friend to archive it. Indeed, there was only one person in the entire world who stood in his way: Uzumaki Naruto.

The Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko, Naruto, was in a worse state than his rival. He was breathing haggardly, his respire coming out in short, wheezing gasps. His forehead protector, which he had worn with inexorable pride on his head, was inadvertently discarded—lost in the thaws of battle. The notorious orange jumpsuit that he was renowned for wearing was gone—utterly destroyed from Sasuke's onslaught. The only garment left adorning his torso was a simple long sleeved fishnet mesh top. His face was bloodied and sported more than a few bruises.

Yet only his left eye was swollen, despite the thrashing Sasuke had dealt upon him during their struggle. Even damaged, his eyes were unyielding in their inexorable determination as he gave his once best friend and brother a glare.

"Naruto. . ." a deep voice rumbled within his mind. His eyes snapped open, his breath coming out in short bursts. He looked towards his friend, a weightless sensation hammering through his being. Cerulean eyes blinked. The world ceased.

"Kurama—" he croaked, his voice cracking in the wind.

"There's not a lot of time. I'm giving you what little chakra I have left. Use it wisely," Kurama replied.

"I. . ." he felt haggard and tired as his breathing left his lungs in quick pants. "Thank you, Kurama. . ." A sound escaped in the wind, a breathless form of respire that seemed cold as it left his mouth. He smiled for the first time in hours as he felt the effects and rush of power.

Bursting forth, he stormed over towards Sasuke, enacting a viscous bout that made the world tremble. "Sassukkeeeee!" he roared as he brought his hand up to block the lone Uchiha's stab. "I'm gonna beat cha up till you stop being stupid!"

He didn't care as a murderous look crossed his friends face. He didn't care when he saw the dark look of gleefulness that showed on the last Uchiha. He just didn't care, because he had a friend—no, a brother—to beat some sense into.

A blurring smear of gold flashed, hurtling across the landscape and crashing into a tumbling beam of darkened azure. Grunting within the haze of power, he flipped around the swiping Susano'o strike, and a flash of golden yellow formed in his hand as a haze of chakra swirled. A flow of energy blasted into been as he took the last few forward dashes and shredded through the ethereal god known only as Susano'o.

The turbulent orbs of nothingness—of darkness—morphed into cartilaginous staffs that appeared in his hands as he hefted them. With not a moment of hesitation, he took the last charge and crashed his staffs downwards at Sasuke.

In the picoseconds before the caliginous staffs could strike their target, Sasuke's black lightning wreathed sword was already countering. With a grunt, he gasped as Sasuke's foot kicked out at his abdomen almost like it was made from steel. Launched backwards, he careened as he dropped to the ground, lurching as he hurried up and blocked a viscous strike from his brother in all but blood. His stomach fell.

"Sasuke. . ." he heaved with a slight whisper as he pitched forwards, a chakra arm appearing and forming a yellow spiraling orb that was shaped like a shuriken.

Pausing in mid strike, he looked towards his friend. "Sasuke. . . please, just—" His breath halted as he looked at his friend. "Just. . . just stop."

"Stop? No."

He felt weak on his feet, as if he'd drop to his knees and never get back up again—like he'd been struck by lightning from a god. With a flash of certainty he realised he had been struck by a bolt of lightning that was unmatched in irony. Whatever happened to defying fate? To defying destiny?

He swallowed hard, taking a step back. Inching upon a pedestal of utter pain, he remembered his godfather, Jiraiya. He smiled one of those fake smiles that most around the village could remember.

He took a step forward, and with certainty, he knew he wouldn't step backwards ever again. "I guess I just have to beat you up some more!"

With a quick whip-whirl, he twisted round and attacked with a step forward, only to be forced back as he barely dodged the strike that surely would have sliced him in half. The glowing haze of practiced Chidori blackened with unimaginable power appeared in sight as it drove him to his knees.

Dazed, he finally realised how exhausted he was. How could he ever win? He drew upon a last ounce of power—a single rush of energy that stormed through him—only for it to bedrained. His body writhed and his breath caught in his throat. His thoughts raced and his body felt numb. Gaping synapses snapped shut.

"This is one of the Rinnegan's powers," Sasuke spoke.

He looked up, his body convulsing. "How much were you hiding before?" he replied, his voice coming out in a short rasp.

"A lot…"

"This—this is ridiculous," he rasped, looking into his rivals eyes.

'How. . .' he choked, breath slowing and his sense of touch leaving him. 'How is he able to so quickly use those techniques without knowing them?'

"It is me, the one who has the eyes of the Uchiha who is destined to be the victor." Sasuke's arrogant words reached his ears, and all he could do was look up.

"You. . . prick. . ." he choked in outright anger—such anger that it was coursing through his veins.

"A little. . . silly, don't you think?" Sasuke replied.

"You're a profound bastard, you know."

"You can yap all you like, but fate has spoken, and the outcome decided."

"I was never the type to listen to fate." his voice croaked and cracked, yet in that moment he never wavered. "That's why. . ." his hands tightened, drawing blood as he gritted his teeth. "This dammed cycle. . ." he cut himself off for a moment, exhaling quickly. "Will end one way or another!"

"It's over. . ." a thousand chirps sounded around his friend's hand just as pure lightning crackled in Sasuke's left fist. "Goodbye, my only friend!"

He groaned before he deftly pivoted around the coming strike, swiveling up and delivering a swiftly sharp uppercut that knocked his friend backwards towards Uchiha Madara's decimated statue.

"Why the hell won't you just stay down!" Sasuke roared. "Just give me a break and fucking die already!"

"No. . ." he responded, his chest rumbling. "I could never do that. . ." he trailed off, his voice imbuing with all of his emotions. "This is who—what I am. I will never give up, even if the world falls apart. You give up on trying to make me give up!"

"Whatever happened to fighting fate? Because you've done a blasted good job of simply delaying the inevitable."

He looked up in his tiredness at his once best friend and brother. He grabbed at his heart. He remembered his fight with Neji during the Chuunin exams, of how he had talked about defying fate. He remembered how every day of his life to him was a war against destiny.

He clearly had lost.

With a choke, he remembered all those that had died on the battlefield for him. To fight towards a better future, a better world.

And he had led them astray.

"You're continuous fight against fate has done nothing but cause it to take its course, and to kill many in the process." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"What?" he asked shakenly.

Rippled eye glinting and seemingly staring into his mind, Sasuke replied, "An old man who loved you and trained you."

Tick.

His heart clenched tight.

"The same man who died for you—to give you a secret of an enemy who you later befriended."

Tick.

His ears rang loudly, the words reaching his very being.

"Kakashi, giving his life in the line of duty. Fukasaku and most of the village dying to protect you."

Tick.

The world slowed down around him, everything ceasing besides what he could hear and feel.

"All of them. Every single one."

Tick.

He could barely breathe, chest tightening and synapses splitting agape. He shook, as if overcome by a foreign feeling. He stared at Sasuke, unable to understand, to gauge everything—or anything at all.

"All the ones that uselessly gave their lives for you."

His hands tightened on themselves, digging into his flesh as his heart pumped ever faster.

"The reason why they died was entirely your fault."

Tick.

"No!" He shouted, clawing for air. He saw with clarity as Neji jumped in front of him, blocking the attack that was meant for him. With a struggle he looked down to find Neji's chest opened up like a portrait that foretold a story, a truth.

Tick.

He saw Tsunade, barely alive and sliced in half because of Madara. He saw the other Kage, all almost nearly dead, because of him, because he wasn't strong enough. His heart twisted as if a knife had curled in and sliced through.

Tick.

He saw Hinata, skewered and near death as she saved him from Pain. Then he saw her again, fighting against beings of white.

For the world.

For him.

Tick.

He saw the world enveloped by the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Because he was too weak and stupid.

His vision was distorted, and his connection with the beasts waned. He broke out into a fit of coughs as he funneled out his chakra. The world tumbled into crimson. His hands shook and his heart thundered as he let out one last earth shattering scream. The world turned white, brisk, and became so brittle that it began to shatter.

His eyes flared up in pain, blood funneling out just as it poured from his mouth, from his nose.

Boom.

The world lit up in white fire, shattered and becoming shards as the Genjutsu—one he knew well—Tsukuyomi was ripped away. Breathing tiredly, he grabbed at his chest, clear liquids slipping from his bloody eyes.

"You ass," Naruto groaned out.

"You escaped?" Sasuke asked with a sigh. "So it has come to this. . ." Sasuke's voice boomed. "But I will end this—" the Uchiha rocketed back from a hurtling punch.

"No!" Naruto roared. "I will! Right here, right now!" the powers of the Bijuu coursed, burning and searing through his veins. "What happened to you?" Naruto shot forward, chakra spiraling forth into a Rasengan. "What about everyone's dreams?"

"Shut up!" Sasuke shot forward, arm crackling with lightning. "I'll make new ones!"

"Do you only care about yourself?" Naruto roared, milliseconds away from his attack meeting Sasuke's.

"I care for them all!" Sasuke returned briskly as their attacks finally met. The ground unearthed on itself and the sky turned black. He, Naruto Uzumaki, was the last ember alit within sight, for the very stars had died out.

The searing darkness of Sasuke's lightning overtook his bright spiraling sphere and unleashed a shock wave of such proportions that it shook the earth. Spires of unique silver collapsed and mountain ranges tumbled down. Islands crumbled and the continent shattered to pieces. Like a fountainhead of the cosmos, the very world bridled into nothingness.

The dark is a very generous and patient being. Settling into the hearts of mankind and giving songful gifts. In this single moment Naruto Uzumaki understood just what he was and what he was fighting.

Yin and Yang. Indra and Ashura. Darkness and Light.

"I will end this here," Sasuke said, rocketing forth and sending him flying.

"No!" Naruto shouted. "I will!"

Sasuke smiled as he brought his hands together. "Chibaku Tensei," Sasuke whispered in reverence.

Just like that, spires of rumble and earth lifted towards the sky, blackening the world further. The last ray of light was snuffed from his fingers just as he began to lift towards the sky. His breath began to leave him as the world around him was pulled upwards. Mountains gone and lifted. Islands vanished and crumbling away. The continent wiped off the map.

With the last remaining strength he had, he forced himself back down, keeping himself floating in the air. "I won't let you destroy our memories—" the blonde Uzumaki was hurled backwards from a punch laced in lightning.

"I shall destroy the past!" Sasuke roared, lifting Naruto up with his powers. "And I will look to the future! For those who are beholdeth with what lies ahead are the true victors!" Naruto felt his windpipe crush inwards on itself from the gravitational powers of his rival.

"I won't let you win!" he pushed himself forwards and smacked his friend away with all his strength.

"Just die already!" Sasuke screamed as another black Chidori formed in his hand.

"I will never die," he answered his friend as he gripped the lone Kunai of his father, Minato Namikaze, and threw it. "What do you think that will d—"

Naruto's hand appeared out the other end of Sasuke's shoulder blade in a flash of pure gold. "I won't let you win," he whispered into his friend's ear just as ear shattering screams of agony rose in the air. "Even if I have to beat you up so bad that every bone in your body is broken."

Sasuke lifted a hand and grabbed Naruto's own hand that was covered in blood. "I—I don't understand—"

"Shush," Naruto interrupted just as the gravitational pull from the much bigger second moon ended. "We will fix this." The golden glow disappeared, replaced with a bright glow that seemed to heal the hole.

The two gods fell to the earth.

* * *

( **A Day Later — Valley of the End** )

Eyes snapped open.

He flew upwards quickly and let out a loud, wheezing gasp of air as he _desperately_ tried to _breathe_.

" ** _Stand._** "

He gasped as he tried to stand, but to no avail.

" ** _Get up, boy. The world is ahead and doesn't wait. Fight,_** " Kurama's voice rumbled in his ears with unbidden power that exuded an ancientness unknown to even himself.

He grimaced but stood anyway. His heart hammered and his lungs were brittle. His respire hampered and haggard, making it hard to breathe. His eyes clouded over.

Sasuke Uchiha lay just metres away from him in an even more hazardous condition.

He let out small laugh, though it was lost to even himself. "I—I won…" he began, disbelief rushing through his veins. "Kurama…."

' _But at what cost?_ '

He felt cold, colder than he ever had as he took the slow, but sure steps towards Sasuke's prone form. Time slowed, and after a brief moment, he held out his right hand and gripped it with his left. " **Senpō: Jiton Rasengan (Sage Art: Magnet Release Spiralling Sphere),** " he numbly said softly as he drove his right hand into Sasuke's body.

"Wha…what the fuck!" Sasuke's wheezing voice reached his ears, and he felt sick, so utterly sick. His agape eyes shut, the door to his soul closing painlessly. ' _Don't look._ ' He thought absentmindedly as lifted his hand.

But his eyes opened unbidden by his soul, and he stared at the friend he had nearly killed, but successfully sealed. "Indeed…" he said, his breathe cracking. "It is over….I've won, this time." He slammed his hand back down onto Sasuke''s chest, watching as the cursed sealing markings of the Shakaku appeared around his teammate's entire frame.

"Gak…." His friend twisted violently in the air, coughing slightly, bile rose slightly in his throat.

"Well? Sasuke? Hello? You with me?" he cut out, waiting for some snarky reply from his old teammate.

But none came.

"So much for your so called revolution," He sneered slightly, his breathe harsh and deep. He felt so fake, so utterly fake. Who was he again? Oh yes, Uzumaki Naruto. He didn't deserve that name anymore, not now, not at the defining moment, he couldn't be the Uzumaki Naruto that he was before. He could only be what he was. _What he is_.

"You…" Sasuke began. "You still don't understand…"

"It seems you can speak," he said softly, his voice full of unbound anger, yet also conviction. "Your vision of a Hokage is nothing but a lie and a joke. You would seek to make the world no better than it is! You who wishes to replace the darkness with yourself?"

"You cannot and will never see things as I do," Sasuke's growl reached his ears. "I needed to cut myself off from everything, from all relations, from all those close to me. To get rid of all of the mistakes before and start anew. With this left eye of mine, I can see the very foundations of the earth, I have sight none alive have," Sasuke's voice was imbued with conviction as it reached his ears. "You are blind to it all, and that…is probably why you're the last one still standing in my way."

He understood and pried from his teammates eyes the scourge, the affliction, the _disease_. The very _curse_ that had woven itself through the crevices of every cruel action, every drop of blood and every soulless eye that foresaw _oblivion_.

Suddenly, everything seemed small, minuscule. His opponent, his sensei, his other teammate, his friends, his comrades, a violet haired girl, the entire world, and even himself. All of it, was so _tiny_. So _miniscule_.

He stared into the very depths of Sasuke's rippled eye, and he saw the _world_. His friends had died. Those closest gone. His comrades gone. A part of him since birth now gone. The world in ruin.

He saw it all. He saw it all on a leaf among leaves. That single, illuminated leaf was a sickly black. His breath froze in tandem with the wind.

It was dying.

Then the world darkened and the wind heaved, and the leaf tumbled down into nothingness.

He wished that he could rescind into oblivion itself as he stared into the non-existence. He looked up. Above the leaves were trees, innumerable in amount, and above them, was the forest.

The single cultivation of it all wasn't burning. It wasn't ending with every last moment fighting against some foreign power. There was no enemy here. No fire to douse, no entity to blame.

It was simply _dying_.

His mouth dried. There was no fire, because there had never been a fire. Only the façade of one. Obito could never have been the envoy of destruction, even if for a time. Madara could never have murdered this world. Even Kaguya couldn't have been the one to have brought destruction in the world.

Everything, _them_ , it _all_ — it was just _smoke_ – an imagination of fire. Fire that would _never_ come. Because it wasn't fire that was killing it all. The entire cultivation was killing itself like a _leech_.

He felt his mind give out from within as his knees buckled.

"You…" Sasuke's voice reached his ears, snapping him from his trance. "Understand it all now, don't you? Why I must become the single thing that the _smoulder_ is pointed at?"

He chuckled. "You say that as if you still have a chance of succeeding. You should've learned by now that I persevere, I persist till the end, and _I_ win." He shook his head slightly, his breathe almost creaking in the wind.

"I don't care about that any more. You must understand. The Akatsuki didn't start this war, nor any country, not even Madara. This war is of us and within."

"We are the leaves within the forests," he murmured slightly, his eyes wide and agape.

"You know _my_ plan," Sasuke began. "I will destroy the past mistakes and put all hatred onto a single construct, _me_. Because of this, the entire cycle will end! This single, cultivated entity will die out! This entity, this seamless forest will be turned into something different! I'll change it all! All of it, the cannibalism, the suffocating and the murdering, all of it will end!"

He snapped back slightly. "You'd change our very existence!"

"Peace can't be obtained through an abstract view. Peace is impossible if we are all to stay normal, if we humans vent our hate like we always have."

He shook his head slightly closing his eyes, reminding himself of Nagato and Jiraiya and his father, of all those that had instructed him with finding the answer. And he thought of the people he would never see again. He thought of the countess dead spread across all of the battlefields that he'd fought for in the war. He thought of death. He opened his eyes. He thought of every single person in the world. He thought of life.

And he knew the answer, finally. "You want to change the world so all hatred is directed at a single person? You wish to change us? So that friendship, humanity and love are replaced with this peace and hatred?" He shook his head. "I finally understand….the answer I've sought for."

"Hmm?" He heard Sasuke seemingly ask.

"A small smile directed at anyone and yet everything." He smiled, gaining strength. "A small bit of food gifted to you when you've lost your breakfast and are cold and hungry." He smiled a dark, yet serene one. "A…a shared Popsicle with a father figure when you're feeling completely alone."

He stopped, watching his friends face carefully, wondering if Sasuke would speak, and wondering if he would challenge his words.

"A kind old man coming to you daily and feeding you a bowl of Ramen with a smile."

"Shut up..."

"A shared smile among the leaves." He looked up. "All of the things I mentioned, they are the things that make us live! Where is any of this in your revolution?"

He grabbed Sasuke by the collar. "You don't want a single cultivated entity, a single overarching forest. You wish for something that can't move, that can't give anything but hatred. That can't take. That can't cause suffering and something that can feel nothing but hatred for a single person." He gritted his teeth. "How much is peace worth if we're not even truly living to live through it?"

"Give me war Sasuke, give me more war if it is to be, because you're peace is nothing but a farce!"

"Shut up!"

"You bastard, still not listening huh?" his voice croaked into the wind. He saw the gears in his teammates head turn and saw his friend lift his head.

But nothing came.

He let go of his friend in anger and took a step back. Struck mute. As if the world had frozen before him.

His hands tightened on themselves, blood leaking out as he finally went and grabbed Sasuke. "Dammit Sasuke! How can you so easily wish to destroy everything Itachi fought for? _Everything we fought for_!" he roared, his heart pulsating in agony.

Sasuke's heart thundered in the wind, groaning, as if it were in pain. His eyes thrummed with power, but a steadily losing power at that. His body was broken, mind left in shambles.

But at his friends words it was almost as if his heart clicked into place. As if his eyes boomed with an impregnable knowledge—of remembrance. As if his mind recalled it all and screamed at him.

His heart shook. "It hurts, Naruto." He breathed slowly, the caliginous anger leaving as his pain overtook him.

Naruto looked up, he knew he didn't mean the physical pain, he always knew.

"I—I know…I've always known," he whispered into the wind. "And it _hurts_ …"

"You… _have_?" Sasuke asked, broken heart desperately latching onto the one thing he could.

Naruto looked at the friend who had once been his brother, even if not through blood. "I always have…."

"I've known it….since the beginning," Sasuke whispered, as if everything made sense to him now. "Naruto, I knew that you were always alone in the past, like myself, the last Uchiha left, you were cast out…."

Naruto tried to open his mouth, but found himself mute. The single cultivation of everything, it all stemmed around them, the two Transmigrants, as it always had, it all was on _them_. It was off _them_ , and _through_ them.

"But after I saw you prank and do stupid things and get scolded….for some reason I decided to keep my eyes on you…" Sasuke choked slightly on his own saliva. "It was also at that time I realised…that your weakness had started to sink into me….I couldn't stop paying attention to you…and when I saw you doing everything you could to create bonds with others…it reminded me again of what I'd lost… _my family_."

Sasuke's head turned to the side. "Yet, for some reason I felt relieved…however, I also thought it was a weakness. So I trained hard to escape it and to become stronger. Stronger than Itachi, but then you ended up in the same team as me. And I was reminded again of my family. And I started to see Team 7 as being somewhat like my family. And so whenever I saw your suffering….I'd feel it too."

Naruto stared at Sasuke, confused yet relieved. "It was the same for me…"

Sasuke looked up. "When I understood you and your pain, for the very first time, I finally considered you as my comrade. But at the same time I couldn't let you become stronger…"

Naruto looked away, gritting his teeth before looking into his friend's eyes. "I also knew that you were always alone too, and I was relieved, so _relieved_ to see someone else like me and I felt so happy I wanted to talk to you right away! But I didn't, because, at the time I was envious of you, of your skills….and so I decided that you'd be my rival! You were….no you became my goal, and for the first time I finally had a true bond." He lifted his hand to his face and clutched it, _hard_.

"It was during our first missions as Team 7 that I truly started reaching after you, because I wanted to become as strong and cool as you." He stopped cold as he truly stared at Sasuke's form.

"It was the _opposite_ , I was the one envious of you! You had a strength I was missing, that I _didn't_ , and **couldn't** have! And you _always_ … **always** walked in front of me. Just like my brother!"

He gritted his teeth, tears slipping out of his eyes. "It—it hurts…" he said into the wind, his voice creaking and disappearing into the wind.

"I know…"

"Why…." he choked, heart pumping ever faster as he howled. "Why did any of this have to happen?" He screamed out at the top of his lungs.

"It doesn't matter anymore, I've….I've _lost_." Sasuke's head moved up. "And you have a Genjutsu to dispel."

"I have to dispel—" Naruto shook his head, confusion making way for certainty. "Don't….." He steeled his resolve. "Don't _make_ me _kill_ **you** , Sasuke…how about you help me fix this. _All of this_?"

He listened to the breath of the world itself, his heart and mind on edge. "What's your decision, Sasuke?" he asked finally after minutes passed by.

"I will do it, Naruto, I—I acknowledge your view of the word," Sasuke finally said, certainty in his voice.

He smiled a true smile, before becoming grim. "I will heal you, but first, you must promise me that you don't plan on backstabbing me."

"I promise you, Naruto, I'm not lying, I'll help," Sasuke said.

His eyes narrowed as he moved other and released his healing into Sasuke. "There, it's done."

He waited a few seconds to watch what his friend would do, and found himself satisfied as Sasuke stood and nodded. "You remember how to release the jutsu, Naruto?" Sasuke smirked slightly before stepping next to him, his hands moving into the Rat seal.

Naruto nodded as he began to bring his hand up in the Rat seal, and smiled as a slight heave appeared in the air. "It's done." He turned slightly as the Old Man appeared.

"Uzumaki Naruto…." The newly appeared Hagoromo spoke.

He waited, breath as even as he could possibly get it. He looked at the ancient being in front of him and felt the power crackling through the Sage.

He waited, but nothing came from the older man's mouth. Seconds. Minutes passed by in a blink of an eye as he awaited the words that surely should have come.

"Um…yes?" he asked in irritation, why was it always so dammed difficult talking with the Old Man?

Nothing came.

He grimaced grimly, the old man may have been ancient and powerful, but he had no social skills, at all. "What's up Old Man?"

"I…" The much older man finally began after minutes of absolute silence. "Put my faith in you to destroy Sasuke's hatred, Naruto." The Old Man smiled slightly. "Despite all of his power and his hatred, he has proven to be nothing against a Shinobi like you. Well done."

Sasuke looked down in defeat, head whirling as he took a few steps back, grabbing at his chest.

Naruto paused in mid thought and looked up, his eyes narrowing. "What do you mean by that? You make it sound like you _knew_ Sasuke would do this."

"Because he told me." Hagoromo bluntly replied. "I talked with Sasuke just as I talked with you. When I asked for your answer, and you told me that you wanted to protect your friends. But, do you perhaps know what Sasuke's answer was?"

Something dark rose in his heart as he realised he probably already knew. "No…." Was the only reply he could give as his brittle heart creaked.

"He spoke truly, telling me that he intended to kill you."

He looked away. Away from the old man. Away from Sasuke, from _everything_. "Yet," he began, struggling to keep his breath even. "You still gave him your power….why?"

"Because I erred when I gave my power to my younger son, Ashura. I left everything with him instead of giving Indra something as well. I even made Ashura my successor! Because of this Indra began to despise both me and Ashura because of my mistakes."

He found himself almost groaning. "So you gave Sasuke all your power just because you felt bad about a mistake you made who knows how long ago? You gave him your power to make up for a mistake that, ultimately, led to all of this happening?"

Sasuke wanted to speak, but had found himself struck mute. He just….he just couldn't interrupt this discussion that his brother in all but blood and his ancestor were having, because they spoke nothing but the truth.

"Well, I wouldn't put it in those terms, but in light of all that's occurred, yes, that was probably another error on my part."

"Well…I don't know what to say old man, other than this is _possibly_ the largest _fuck_ _up_ I've ever _heard_ off," he snapped back.

The Sage smiled grimly. "Is that so?"

"You messed up the first time all those years ago by only giving Ashura your inheritance. But in this case, Sasuke had a lot of hatred in him, thanks to what happened to his family and brother. Power was all he cared about, he even craved for it for years. Handing him even more power was not the solution."

The Sage gave a slight nod. "I've been watching you for some time now. You may not be perceived as the most intellectually capable, but you have proven yourself worthy as a successor to my legacy—"

Sasuke's resolve finally rose through his heart, and he took a few drastic steps towards the Sage. "I—I beseech you, Sage of the Six Paths, to do me this favour and give my eyes to Naruto as a gift…"

Naruto stepped back, his breath coming out fast. "Sasuke, what are you…"

The Sage seemed to smile slightly. "It seems I made the right choice after all…very well, Uchiha Sasuke."

"NO!" Naruto shouted. "I—I don't need your eyes Sasuke! I…." he croaked out, breath coming out faster than it should.

"Please Naruto, this is what I wish—no what I want to do," Sasuke said with a small smile.

Hagoromo Otsutsuki moved over to Sasuke, looking for any doubt. But found none. Satisfied, he began to work on taking Sasuke's eyes out of their sockets and placing them into Naruto's own.

"I have implanted my knowledge of how to use those eyes into them, Naruto," the Sage stated as the transplant was finally finished. "I will also seal Kurama's other half and the rest of the tailed beasts into your body. Finally, I will bestow upon you **my Rikudō no Yō no Chikara (Six Paths Yang Power)** once more, and as a gift grant you the power I gave Sasuke, the **Rikudō no In no Chikara (Six Paths Yin Power)** and the Yin-Yang powers that come with it."

"Old man I…."

"It's okay, Uzumaki Naruto." The Sage smiled, "Another thing, I will change your body so you can use that power properly."

"You can do that?" he asked softly.

"Of course I can. I may have given you my Yin-Yang chakra's before, but I didn't give you the same ones as Sasuke, you got half of my power, the **Rikudou no Sennin Modo (Six Paths Sage Mode)**. Whereas he got the Rinnegan, the other half. But now, I'm giving you the other half of my power, do with it as you will." Having finally stopped talking, Hagoromo began sealing Kurama's Yang chakra within Naruto (fusing his Yin and Yang halves and making the Kyūbi 'whole' again) and sealing the other tailed beasts and making the fragments whole. Before once more endowing him with the Yang seal, and this time along with the Yin seal.

He stared at the old man and finally asked what he had wanted to ask for a while, but couldn't give himself the strength to. "What about Sasuke?"

"He will keep his power, for whatever use he can use it for without his eyes," the Sage briskly replied.

He nodded finally as he activated the Rinnegan in both eyes. "Very well, Old Man, am I to assume this is the end?"

The Sage smiled once more. "I am proud to call you my descendent," the Sage seemed to pause, before beginning again. "Goodbye." And the God of Shinobi, the Sage of the Six Paths, disappeared from the face of the earth.

"Wow, I—I feel incredible!" he exclaimed, his body brimming with an untold amount of power. Feeling like never before, he opened up his senses once more, feeling almost everyone stirring from their induced hypnosis at the hands of the mass Genjutsu. There was…something off about how they felt, but he shook his head and ignored it.

He couldn't help but let a bright smile slip onto his face as he turned and walked towards Sasuke, who had waited patiently while he had talked with Hagoromo.

"Sasuke?" he asked, looking at his rival who sat, not looking at anything particular considering he had no eyes.

"Yeah, Naruto?" Sasuke replied.

"Sakura and Kakashi have just gotten here," he said, a small smile on his lips.

And Sasuke showed something on his face he'd never seen before.

A true smile.

* * *

 ** _The Journal of Naruto Uzumaki._**

 _That day was one of the happiest of my life, I had saved the world, saved myself, saved Sasuke, but it was also one of the worst._

 _When Kakashi and Sakura came, we all reconciled with each other, laughing and happy, and Team 7 was truly a team._

 _But the happiness was not to be._

 _Because every single human caught within the Infinite Tsukuyomi had been turned into a White Zetsu._

 _They had come like thunder as we all went to see our friends and people. Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke hadn't known, but I had. I had sensed that something was off, but I had ignored it for happiness._

 _I killed the Shinobi world._

 _I killed my friends. My village, and our allies. I killed them all._

 _I killed the world._

 _I killed her. The one I had avoided. Her._

 _Hinata._

 _With nowhere to go, we, all of us, me, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakshi. Ran._

 _Just, ran._

 _We ran so fast._

 _Because in truth, we couldn't bear to kill them. So we went to the one place that we knew a way was possible to save it all._

 _We went to Uzushio to create a seal greater than anything before._

 _It defied belief, it was a marvel of the world. Every manner of its seal was perfect._

 _It was impossibly complex, combining as a foundation, the ancient Uzumaki designs with the Six Paths seals on my hands, and Sasuke gave an Uchiha seal array. One based on time itself, derived from the Mangekyo Sharingan's techniques._

 _It was more delicate than anything ever made. And it would hopefully deliver us all from the nightmare that had been plaguing my dreams for five years._

* * *

 **Five Years Later.**

"You have to stop now! You've looked over it twenty times already!"

"It has to be perfect," he answered briskly, his heart hammering in his chest as he inspected the sealing array again.

"I know, but we have no time! _You_ have to—"

"I need to make this perfect," he returned back, his heart pumping impossibly fast.

"Naruto, listen to me!" Sakura shouted, almost screamed at him as she grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around to look at her. Her bloodshot eyes staring into his. "You need to focus! There's no more time!"

His heart felt sour. "But Sakura, we hav—

"Dammit Naruto I know!" she snapped back. "I know, but there's nothing else that can be done. They're here….."

Sasuke stepped in, blindness not stopping him from walking across the podium towards them. "She's right…" Sasuke whispered. "They're here, and all of our defences are down."

Kakashi ran in, holding a kunai. "You must go! Now! All three you! I will flank you!"

The golden shroud of his Six Paths Sage Mode coated his form, from his hair down to his toes. The hue of gold surged through his body like a living flame.

He felt it. Power, endlessly gargantuan and deep, surging through his form.

Everything was light.

The crackling power sent a shiver up his arms, like static electricity only without the stinging. He breathed hard as he pushed the chakra of the nine tailed beasts into the seal.

Then a hole appeared.

The seal seemed to thunder, to writhe and morph as the hole within reality split open further to reveal something, _impossible_.

There were two halves of the existence within the hole. One where an ocean of churning water whirled, with the brightest of starlight and the brightest of colours flowing. Another where the embers of wick were becoming extinguished, where the stars were dying out, where light was gone and the darkness crept. And he, in all of his power, couldn't even begin to grasp at what he was seeing.

 _It was the beginning of infinity_

 _An end of infinity._

 _It was infinity itself._

"It's working!" he shouted in relief, turning to stare at Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi not too far away, holding the Zetsu's off.

Sakura gave him a strange look.

Sasuke sighed and nodded.

Kakashi merely whirled around and threw a kunai into the sealing array.

In a split second seals writhed and wreathed on his body, coiling around him and leashing him tightly. "What are you doing?" he asked in shock as he saw the tell-tale signs of Susano'o form into being around him like an impregnable wall. "Sasuke, what's going on?"

"Only what needs to be done," Sasuke cut back briskly.

Sakura stood besides Sasuke, a sad look on her face. "We're all doing this so you can get through."

He looked at the both of them, and a look of horror crossed onto his face. "No…" he whispered. "No! You all said that we would work through this together!"

"We lied," Sasuke replied.

"By my calculations, I found that even with all the power you have you wouldn't be able to bring us back with you, none of our bodies can handle the sheer force from the rip in reality besides you, because of this you wouldn't be transported further back then maybe a year ago," Sakura said, a sad smile on her face.

"This is the only choice Naruto!" Kakashi shouted from the far end of his fight, bringing his hands down and creating a wall of rock as he runs towards Sasuke's Susano'o construct.

His wide, unblinking eyes grew wet with tears as his face became slack. 'Why…."

Sasuke stepped in front of him, facing the closed of doorway. "By my own calculations, to get to the hole in reality, every step is hazardous and is a form of an almost dying effect. If I'd had the Rinnegan I may have been able to take the trip with you, though it's doubtful. But now? Me, Sakura and Kakash? None of us can do it."

"But you all told me we could make it!" he cried out, his heart slowing down in his chest.

"We lied, Naruto," Kakashi said, breathing heavily.

His heart almost gave out at those words. "Then….." he paused, looking at them, before finishing with baited breath. "Will I be able to make all of the steps towards the hole?"

"If you're on your own, yes," They all said in tandem.

He shook his head frantically. "No, I—I'll get us all there! Please just believe in me."

"We have no time for this!" Sasuke shouted, slapping him on the back.

Sakura nodded walking over and stepping besides Sasuke, a burst of chakra crackling in her hands.

The door, blocked off by Kakashi's Doton and held into place by ten seals, busted open.

Then nothingness met them all.

Sakura let out a scream as her perception and senses roared at her. Her left hand grabbed onto Naruto, and her right onto Sasuke.

Up, down, darkness, light, smell, touch, heat, cold, sight, all of her senses screamed at her and ripped at her nerves, as if _they_ were _alive_.

She was everything and nothing at all. Her chakra anchoring Naruto, Sasuke and herself to the very world, tethering them into existence even as they died an innumerable amount of times. Once the last amount of her chakra left her, Sasuke would do the same for Naruto.

They took a step, and her chakra and life started to slip away, as though her very life was worthless, so utterly worthless.

One of the White Zetsu used a Mokuton jutsu that appeared out of nowhere in front of them, ready to slice through all of their hearts before they could blink.

A fountain of blood rolled across the floor. The Zetsu's didn't hear their victim's words. But he, Sasuke and Sakura did. He stared into the dimly clouded raven eyes of Hatake Kakashi.

"I hope…that this is enough of an apology for being such an awful Sensei…"

Kakashi let out a laugh and smashed the three forwards into another two steps, though the dead man's humour is lost to him. Then the man slumps, and he is forced to not pay another thought as Sakura pushed them further forward.

"Dammit…." he croaked out, his heart dying. He looked over at Sakura, and his heart stopped. "….Sakura…?" he asked to no avail.

Sakura didn't look at him, she let a smile form on her lips, a brittle one that told the truth. "Goodbye….Sasuke…Naruto…"

Sasuke shook slightly as he gripped Sakura's arm tightly.

One last step.

Haruno Sakura died, her life and chakra drained away as she took a single whisper and faded into nothingness.

Sasuke's held back chakra surged to life after five years. The blind Uchiha could feel his feet being tugged down into the ground in the place that his dead teammate had been.

"No! Dammit why!"

The blind Uchiha ignored his last friend's curse and heavy breathing in place of pushing them both forwards.

Sasuke felt his Susano'o shrivel up from the force of the rip in reality, and he felt his utterly massive reserves and his life force sapped away, _impossibly_ fast.

Eight steps away from the hole.

"Two steps," the Uchiha whispered.

Six steps left.

Blood flowed out of his empty eyes, and his innards began boiling inside him. Sasuke groaned.

Four steps.

"Dammit Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, choking. "I can get us both the rest of the way if you just unseal my power!"

The blind and dying Uchiha shook his head, his empty eye sockets open for the world to see as blood leached out, leaking and flowing. "I have….to make sure."

Two more steps, and the Susano'o began to evaporate. The last of the fiery flames dying away. Sasuke became hunched over, coughing up his own insides that become naught but dust within the arc of time.

"Dammit Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, his breath coming out fast. "I can get us the rest of the way, just let me out!"

"No Naruto! My time's over…"

"I don't fucking care you bastard!" he screamed out, his power desperately trying to break out of the seal, only for his power to betray him and stay in place.

Sasuke gave a brittle smile. "For what it's worth _dobe_ …" Sasuke paused, choking on the words. _My_ d _amn cursed pride._

"I always have had to carry your damn sorry ass through it all…"

Before Naruto could even shout out at Sasuke, his teammate and rival took two final steps into. _Oblivion_.

The Susano'o finally burst, and Sasuke opened his arms out. "I hope…that this is enough of a compensation for all of the shit I pulled." The blind Uchiha Sasuke died, ripped to pieces so utterly that nothing was left as his flesh peeled and disappeared.

The seals holding Naruto down disappeared, and he roared into the world, howling and crying into oblivion.

They were all gone now, every last person he had ever cared for.

Just, gone.

He growled in his throat, clawing at it as he cried at nothing and _everything_.

" ** _You have to move, now!_** "

He didn't respond, and continued to stare into the nothingness in front of him.

" _Will we die here?_ "

" ** _No, now walk, boy."_**

He took a step, and began to sift into the hole.

" _Kurama_?"

" ** _Move, you stupid, fucking idiotic Ningen._** "

" _Are you—are you going to die and leave me alone to?_ " he asked with baited breath. His heart was brittle as he howled into reality itself, challenging it, baiting it to kill him, to take another away from him.

" ** _Move it, blasted boy._** "

He moved through the hole completely, allowing oblivion to swallow him whole.

 _Can't die._

 _You can't die._

 _I can't die._

" _We will not die here!"_

* * *

Eyes creaked open.

Shooting up, his body writhed as his eyes snapped agape. Caked in sweat, he took in the view of the world around him. His heart sped up as he shot up, recognising a room, to him, that he hadn't seen in an innumerable amount of years.

For an eternity of years he stared into those walls and smelled his badly washed beddings. His heart quivered as he heard the sounds of what used to be Konoha's early mornings before Pain's devastating attack.

After the eternity ended he moved, finally, heart pumping as he stood at the now open window, blinds drawn agape for him to stare at what was clearly the village of Konohagakure no Sato before Pain's attack.

Before the world was devastated by Kaguya.

He smiled blissfully, and turned towards the rest of his old humble abode. But then the smile on his lips traced away.

" _Kurama?_ " he croaked out. Silence met his words and reality smacked him in the face. He suddenly found it hard to breathe as he ran his hands through his hair. " _Kurama?_ " Tears flowed down his cheeks as he closed his eyes for the one friend he had left. " _Kurama?_ " The boy looked at the floor, revelling in the sound of the fan overhead.

" _Ku.._." He stopped as he took a deep breath. Nobody left but him. He got up to see if the fruit of his effort worked. He walked into the bathroom, face with a mirror. In that mirror he found the face of his eight year old self staring back at him. In that mirror he found hope. He stared back, clenching his fists, calling out with renewed vigor.

" _Kurama?_ "

He found his heart breaking into pieces as he finally noticed how quiet it was. But, he couldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it. Even though his body quivered at the possible truth.

" _Dammit say something to me. Please,_ " his throat felt tired, so utterly tired that it couldn't handle the weight of his own breath.

" ** _Yes, boy?_** "

A smile wormed its way onto his lips, and he dropped to his knees, laughing in happiness.

" _Thank you, Kurama…._ "

" ** _For what?_** "

" _For not leaving me alone._ " The pieces of his heart slowly began to reform into one once again. But a part of him was still dead, the part that had been that little, hyperactive boy.

The part of himself that he could never get back.

He may see his eight year old face in the mirror, but eyes not his see the truth, his eyes are that of the 22 year old man who had seen life and had become…

 _Dead_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

Naruto walked over towards the fridge, his eyes darting from side to side. ' _I'm being watched._ ' He thought calmly as he opened the fridge and picked up a canteen of aged milk. His face screwed up a little as he poured it into a cup and pretended to drink it.

' _One_.' His eyes darted and caught the flash of movement of an Anbu to the left. ' _Two_.' His eyes caught the practically non-existent intake of breath that even the most skilled Jonin wouldn't have noticed.

' _Three, four._ ' Two other Anbu hid with such stealth and confidence that he recognised that they were veterans. ' _Five, six, seven, eight—_ ' He paused, shocked at the amount of Anbu that were keeping an eye on him.

There must've been _sixteen_ of them!

Careful to keep his cool, he leaned forward unnoticeably and caught the obvious flash of a camera.

Just what was Hiruzen doing having sixteen of some of his best Anbu watching him? Not only that, but camera's too?

' _Fuck._ ' His eyes caught a flash of something he hoped he wouldn't have to see.

Five of those Anbu operatives were part of Root. Skilled ones at that. Danzo had always taken an interest in him but he had never gone so far before! What had changed?

Absentmindedly he took one long look around his room. Synapses creaked agape. Something was wrong!

Why was it made as if it were supposed to withstand a huge amount of damage? Why was it so much more pristine then he remembered?

' _Calm down._ ' He breathed in and out, making sure to keep his breath as even as possible. A slight tingle jolted up his spine originating from his seal. He recognised that feeling well. ' _They've got my seal under watch too?_ '

In seconds the Anbu crashed into the room, and the world went cold around him.

* * *

"Report!" The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen barked out. The aged man walked down a staircase and thundered into Konoha's top secret hospital.

"Unknown Hokage-sama." An Anbu replied. "He slept normally as usual and was fine when he awoke, if a little erratic for a few seconds." The Anbu paused, clicking his tongue. "A couple minutes after that he walked over to his fridge and drank a glass of milk—"

"A glass of milk?" Saurtobi cut in, incredulous. "Is that the reason for why an A-rank to potential S-rank alarm was set off?"

"No sir," The Anbu member answered in his drone voice. "A few minutes after drinking the milk his seal spiked on our sensors."

The legendary Shinobi ignored his loyal dog and walked towards his best Anbu operative. "Inu, did you notice anything unusual?"

The Shushou (Commander-in-Chief) of the Anbu, Hatake Kakashi looked up. "Negative, there was no sign of Genjutsu, poison or any kind of tampering with the seal."

Sarutobi sighed, but nodded. "Very well." He said as he walked into the room where the _Jinchuuriki_ was being looked after.

As the aged man walked in he put on a look of kindness. Nearing the boy he watched as the child's eyes turned to stare at him.

Sarutobi waited, wondering when the small child would speak, but nothing came. Sighing he moved closer. "Naruto, are you alright my boy?"

The child's mouth became thin for seconds on end from holding his breath. "Yes…"

As old as Sarutobi was, he could tell a lie from truth with ease, yet when faced with this child he could never tell. The child's emotions were always so over the place that it was like staring into a mirror that had no end in sight.

Like an age before destruction, and the age after creation.

" _Namikaze_ Naruto! Listen well." Sarubtobi stated, watching as the boy's head moved upwards to stare at him. "I've told you more times than I can count that you can tell me anything, anything at all! So don't lie, what's happened?"

The child's hands began to tighten so hard that blood began to pour out. Sarutobi inched closer, hoping to stop the boy from hurting himself further.

In a burst of speed that shocked the aged man, Naruto rushed towards him and held onto him tightly. Utterly hysterical in a fit of tears. For a few minutes the aged man just stood and watched the boy, before finally picking him up and sitting in a chair as the boy continued to cry.

Sarutobi took a breath, letting himself sigh as he waited for the boy's hysterics to calm down. He shouldn't have been surprised when Naruto's sniffles finally faded into restless sleep, the boy's features scrunching up in discomfort. He considered waking him but in the end decided it'd be best to simply ask the boy tomorrow. The boy was still a boy after all. Much like Minato was before—

The door slammed opened, and a man stepped in. "Is the child alright?" The man answered in a soft voice as he picked the child up from his teacher and placed him on the hospital bed.

"Physically he seems fine. As for what triggered the seal to spike and for him to be this way we have no idea." Sarutobi admitted in anger and confusion. "Part of me thinks this is all a very vivid dream brought on by senility or lapse in mental capability."

"This was no dream." His student replied as he inspected the seal.

Those words made Sarutobi's face become cold and harsh. "What is it?"

"The seal has become enlarged with nine extra chakra types, Sensei."

"Excuse me?" Sarutobi cut back.

"What I just said, it's as if nine other constructs decided to join the _guardian_ in his jail." The man answered. "Definitely not something Minato intended to happen, nor should it be possible."

Sarutobi leaned back in his seat. "I'd suppose you'd know wouldn't you, Orochimaru? You and Minato were friends after all."

* * *

Sarutobi marched through the tiled floor of Konoha's feared Interrogation Department, where Naruto now lay asleep as he was wheeled in on his hospital bed. This day had left a foreboding feeling and had continued to downgrade from there. He needed answers and he wanted them now!

Even if Danzo had something to say about it.

Absentmindedly he wondered when Jiraiya would get back, he'd certainly be the help needed to figure out what had happened with the seal, being the sealing master that he was.

From the side Inoichi came up beside him, practically delirious from the sleep he had been dragged out of.

"Prepare for a walk through his mind." Sarutobi demanded. "I need to know what's happened, and I must know everything that has happened to him even if it goes back a year!"

Once they reached the chamber, Inoichi got ready to begin his work. After the preparation was finished he finally closed his eyes and formed hand-seals. Not four seconds later the man's eyes opened in shock. "The boy's brain…it…..it's in shambles…."

"Shambles?"

"Imagine a mind is narrow, you follow it down to the precipice of its formation and leave the way you came. But imagine a mind with hundreds of different sections and directions with no end in sight. Imagine that there is barriers in your way that block you from going further, and not simply Genjutsu barriers, but barriers his mind creates itself, blocking entry." Inoichi paused, then coughed, spitting a bit of blood. "It'll be next to impossible to enter his mindstream."

Sarutobi's mind began to work overdrive to figure out the dilemma put before him. "What in the world could do that?"

"I don't have a clue."

"Then find a clue! I have a worlds list of suspects right now and I need that list to be narrowed down! Either think of something to get in there or find out what could have caused this!"

"I can't walk through his mind, it's as if he can block me without knowing it."

Sarutobi all but grounded his teeth as he turned to an Anbu to the right. "Command Inu to widen the search to include all village residents, whether long term or short term. We could have someone sneaking in and stealing clan techniques."

As the Anbu thundered out the door, Sarutobi turned to stare at the child. "Now get me Jiraiya!"

* * *

Shooting up, Naruto's body writhed as his eyes snapped agape. Caked in sweat and breathing hurriedly, his gaze took in the immaculate void of darkness around him.

The vibrant glow of fire newly lit made his heart sizzle in relief. Though it only lasted a second as he took a good gaze around his mindsteam.

The Bijuu were nowhere in sight. The cage that had loomed over him for years of his life was gone. His connection with his mind was being severed somehow….

He cannot see Kurama. He can't hear him. He cannot feel him, and he could not feel even the slightest echo of his presence. His friend is gone without so much as a footprint to have ever indicated he was there.

Shaking, it took him mere moments to realise that if he never reconnected himself back again, that he'd be stuck within his mindstream for eternity.

At least, that was what Ino had told him once.

The clock within his mind started, ticking away at a rate that killed him within, as he began to look around the many strings and different passages that was his mind.

Darkness, it was everywhere within his mind. Like a leech that wouldn't leave. Like a crazed nightmare that kept slipping back into place.

To get back into his main mindstream, he'd have to combat darkness itself. Without light in sight, but that was okay, for he was a flash of light within.

He deduced that he had been asleep for some time now, which means…he only had perhaps an hour to find his way back to his inner mind and find the Bijuu.

The rush hour had begun.

 _Tick._

He looked around in a rush, hoping to pick out the best possible direction. But there was none.

 _Tick._

Breath coming out faster and heart beating, he finally began to run through the first direction that he could think of.

In an instant the darkness was gone. His eyes closed, then snapped open, blinking as he hissed at the light streaming through the spot he was lying down at, with what was perhaps curtains or something else drawn across his view. The sun burned.

Wait, where was he?

What had happened?

"Hello ther—"

Naruto had risen so fast he literally appeared as if he hadn't moved yet. An after-image taking his place and then fading away.

"Sorry…" He mumbled, eyes gazing out at everything. "Where…where am I?"

"You're in the graveyard dimension, and this, is your grave."

An uncomfortable silence followed as his gaze found a tombstone with his name written on it. His eyes dropped as he retracted the hand he had extended, taking a deep breath. Listening to the rustle of the wind and the ticking of a clock that sounded familiar.

 _Tick._

His eyes darted around the graveyard as the clock's sound resonated across the entire area. Everything seemed strange, chakra quiet and yet all over the place. Flickers of humming sounds, and his hands blurring.

 _Tick_.

The silence from the man felt like a snake was crawling up his back. "Hello?" He finally spoke, waving his hand in front of the man. No reaction came.

What was going on?

"Mind telling me what the fuck is going on?"

 _Tick_.

His legs tensed and he suddenly moved so fast that he appeared at the edge of the graveyard before a millisecond could pass.

 _Tick_.

A bloodied nurse appeared in his view and the room changed to a hospital.

"The fuck?" He spoke as he rubbed his eyes. The world had become frozen, everything now a standstill. Even light no longer moved, as if time had slowed down around him. He swallowed slightly. The fuck was going on?

 _Tick_. _Tick_.

The man who spoke to him was there, only he had turned into a boy and was able to move. The boy's hair was blond, like his own. Too much like his own. The boy was a mirror image of himself. Synapses snapped shut. Legs became like jelly. He gritted his teeth.

His legs gave out.

 _Tick_.

The world hummed around him and the scenery changed again.

"You're fast." The boy said. "Reminds me of my father."

Naruto blinked. "Who the fuck are you?"

The boy's face scrunched up. "The fuck are you?" The child returned with a smirk.

"Bad word there, don't repeat my language young man." Naruto said tersely.

"Fuck you."

"…Are you trying to antagonise me?" Naruto groaned.

"Names Namikaze Naruto." The boy finally said.

'…..Fuck.'

* * *

"We found nothing at all."

"This isn't like you….do you need another few days?"

"No, there is nothing at all, Hokage-sama." Kakashi spoke up once more. "Naruto spoke to no one unusual, and reports from the camera's keeping watch on him have come up with nothing. Hyuuga have looked over his chakra and found nothing. Iwa hasn't tried anything in the last year and there's no inkling of any involvement on their part. As for _Kumo_ , there's no proof."

"I cannot tell you to stop searching, I'm sorry."

"I understand, but I thought you should know that there is no inkling of us finding anything of value."

"…Just do everything within you're power. Leave no stone unturned." Sarutobi stated. "In the meantime I also want you to place an even higher guard on Naruto, and, to leave your duties as Shushou (Commander-in-Chief) of the Anbu in the background and watch over him yourself. Am. I. Clear?"

"Understood!" Kakashi stated as he vanished.

"You might be pushing him a little hard." Orochimaru stated as he walked over with a slight look of discomfort.

"He can handle it, he's a strong Shinobi. Strong enough to fight against you and Jiraiya without blinking. A true Shinobi, the Second Coming of the White Fang." Sarutobi walked, approaching the door, and sighed.

"He's still young, and has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders."

"He's a Shinobi, and we endure." Sarutobi stated calmly. "And I have complete faith in him."

"Maybe too much." Orochimaru mumbled quietly.

Sarutobi slammed his hand on the door. "There must be some explanation. If not, whomever did this managed to infiltrate every layer of defence that our village has while staying completely undetected? Even I would have trouble with that! And I made the damn system with Tobirama's guidance!"

"Sensei, I think it might be a good idea to calm down, Jiraiya's on the way. Hopefully when he gets here things start to become clearer."

"I don't have the luxury to wait." Sarutobi mumbled as he began to open the door.

"Where are you going?" Orochimaru asked with narrowed eyes.

"To say hello to a den of darkness and meet an old Hawk." The door was flung opened, and the Hokage of Konoha stepped out, basking in the sunlight, for he'd be within the precipice of darkness soon.

* * *

Naruto's eyes kept blinking for several seconds that went by, in what was practically an instant. "The shit is going on here?"

"Oy, weren't you talking about language before, jackass?" The child Naruto spoke.

"Fucking little twerp…." Naruto mumbled under his tongue.

"Jackass!"

"Twerp!" Naruto countered with a smile.

The boy crossed his arms and began to mumble to himself with a pout.

Laughing Naruto took another look at his surroundings. "Where are we?" He looked down at the smaller him, only to see a slight flicker and the boy had aged slightly, if only a year or two.

The look on the perhaps eight year old face was a cold one that didn't hold the same amount of emotion it had before. "I'm a lot more dangerous then I look." The boy stated softly.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, confusion racing through his mind.

"I may not be allowed into Root yet, but Danzo, my grandfather has been training me."

"What!" Naruto roared, eyes wide and hands shaking. "G—grandfather?"

"Is everything alright, _sir_?" The boy asked with an intuitive look.

"I—I'm just….fine." Naruto mumbled in shock, as he started pacing around the area that distorted and became the graveyard once again. "Okay, I get it now, this is my mind. But then how am I seeing my own grave?"

"Dude, you're talking to yourself."

"That doesn't matter!" Naruto said before looking around once more.

"It's a bad sign."

Naruto blinked as he turned to look at the little him with a different last name. "Names Uzumaki Naruto." He finally extended as an offer of a truce.

"Fuck…." The boy said, eye twitching. "This—this is messed up."

"Totally." Naruto said, running a hand through his hair as he tried to think.

What had he been doing before? What had happened? Why couldn't he remember anything?

" **Step towards your end.** "

A voice from within a void reached out to him, deep and dark as it boomed.

" **Once at the end, turn towards the next tomorrow.** "

The voice, it whispered in his head, urging him to do as it says. It sounded familiar, so he did as it asked.

The graveyard distorted and disappeared, and his inner mind appeared before him, fixed. Somewhat at least.

" **You brought the other you with you?** " The being inquired.

"Who…who are you?" Naruto asked, his hands still a blur of movement as his heart beat moved as fast as possible to keep up.

" **You know who I am.** "

He blinked. The world lighted up and they were there. All of them, as was Kurama. "Kurama?" He blurted out as he rushed over.

" **Indeed**." The voice stated from the side.

He ignored it as he ran over and gripped the fox's fur. "Kurama!"

" ** _What are you doing?_** "

"I was so worried that I would never see yah again!"

" ** _…_** ** _.Okay I get that, I am amazing, but yet again, what are you doing?_** "

"I'm hugging yah and crying of course dammit!"

" ** _Did you lose your brain?_** "

"NO!" He denied hurriedly. "Though….my minds a little all over the place right now."

" **You told me he was odd….but I never imagined….** ** _this_** **.** "

"Huh?" Naruto said as he turned to the side. He blinked.

Why were there two Kurama's?

"The fuck?"

" **I, am Kurama**." The voice answered. " **The Kurama of this world line. And I, am the Guardian, the overseer of the Eight Beasts.** "

"Guardian?" Naruto asked incredulously as his mind worked overdrive to process the phenomenon in front of him.

" **What I am doesn't matter right now. What does is that I have two jailers having walk-a-bouts in their own mindstream, and they don't know how the fuck to get out because they were probably dropped as babies.** "

"Oy…" Namikaze said with a small pout.

" **You're bipolar.** "

"Aren't you rude!" Namikaze said as he crossed his arms on his chest.

" **As rude as I can be with a jailer like you, looks like the other me may have gotten a little lucky.** " The other Kurama stated, but seemed to smile slightly.

Naruto took a look at his Kurama. "Are they…are they bantering with each other?"

" ** _…_** ** _.It seems so._** "

"I'd guess you do it too." Namikaze said with an inquiring gaze to his older self.

Naruto shook his head with a laugh, his eyes twitching as he reached out a hand. He drew it back with a gasp of pain. It was like a bomb was slowly going off within his mind with a timer. The pain writhed, as if it were sentient. A clock began within, like a warning to his end.

Tick. Tick.

His mindstream thundered. Flickering in and out. Like the depths of darkness and light. It was like a star going hyper-nova, exploding outward in an arc. His heart shook with the distortion as a blazing light boomed through. Finally, it stabilised. His eyes saw the depths of his mind, so resolute and seemingly archaic. He reached out a hand to the limitless world. Watching as it seemed to shift around him, growing larger still. And the memories came thundering back and sent him to his knees. Liquids fell out of his eyes as his heart thundered. "They…they're all…gone." He whispered, throat hoarse.

"They?" Namikaze inquired softly.

"My friends….my precious people, they're all dead..." Naruto answered to himself throatily. Synapses split agape. Heart raced. The world came crashing down around him, and everything became so….quiet.

Namikaze took a step back. "What happened to you?"

"Nightmares. They came true. They devoured me." Naruto looked at Namikaze. "And they will devour you, unless we stop this."

"What are you talking ab—"

"They all die, asshole!" Naruto screamed. "Everyone. Dead. ALL dead! Because we're not strong enough!" Naruto pointed at him. "Because you do not become strong enough!"

"Wha—"

Naruto's body screamed at him. His mind flashing as he saw them. Dead and overtaken. His heart thundered. A mirror image of himself stood before him now. His inner darkness.

"I—I caused all that…" The words came out choked, he could barely speak. His throat burned and his heart churned.

"You what?" Namikaze inquired as he stepped closer.

"I—I…" Naruto began, his heart crashing down.

"You lost them all." The inner darkness spoke.

His legs wobbled, as if made of jelly. His heart shook fast, too fast, and his head was all-over the place.

"Naruto, you need to calm down, everything's okay." Namikaze spoke with a hand extended.

"We killed them all. It was all our fault."

Naruto's heart dropped, and he trembled. No. It—it couldn't be. His fingers twitched. Heart slowing to an absolute halt.

"Whatever you're imaging, it doesn't matter, and we're all here." Namikaze said softly.

"We killed the world."

"No!" Naruto screamed out, heart stopping and blood flow ending. "NO!" His hand lashed out and grabbed his throat as a coppery taste began to flood it. "Wh…" Blood flooded out from his lips. His knees hitting the floor as the stream that was his mind showed him thousands of images in a second, stopping at a vision that chilled his core. Before him stood bones, the skeletons of his team. _Team 7._

"What do you see?" Namikaze asked again, but was ignored.

Naruto reached for Kakashi's bones. It dissolved into nothingness. He went and tried to grab at Sakura's. But it crumbled away. Tears stung his cheeks as he grabbed Sasuke's, watching as it turned to dust and was swept away by the winds of his mind. Rivers of liquids flooded out of his eyes as his mind become incoherent.

He was a monster.

"…Naruto?" Namikaze asked in a slight amount of fear.

Like the remnants of the precipices of his heart, the left overs of his team disappeared. His friends that were practically his family, had died because of him. "Why?" He croaked out. Silence met his words and reality kicked him in the gut. "Dammit why?" Tears flowed down his face, the abscess of his heart creaking. "Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, Gyuki!" He screamed out, heart shaking. " _Kurama_?" He called out, stopping for breath. There was no one left but him right now. They were all gone. He couldn't see. He couldn't hear. He can't even feel. "Dammit, why?" He drew back and let out a scream.

"Naruto, we're here! What's happening?" Namikaze shouted.

The world shattered around Naruto, and he was back in that ghastly sewer again, but he didn't care, because they were there, the last ones left….

"They're gone…" Naruto whispered once more.

"No," Namikaze gently spoke. "You— _we've_ got new ones."

"They're dead." Naruto said and his body creaked as he gripped the smaller boy. "All _dead_."

"We can create new memories. Make new ones." Namikaze said.

"But they're dead." Naruto said again in desperation. He leaned forward and looked down at Namikaze. "Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, _Dad_ —" He choked, blood slipping out of his mouth.

"Things change, you make new friends, new family." Namikaze leaned forwards. "We won't fail them this time."

Naruto whimpered. "Not again." He whispered hoarsely.

"Not again." Namikaze whispered, and the boy blinked, eyes becoming watery. "Ignored, loathed. Thrown away like trash. I failed myself by being unable to change everyone's perceptions of me. Failed you."

Naruto looked up at his younger self, not being able to imagine going through it all again.

"And now we're dead." Namikaze said.

" _No_ , now _I'm_ dead." Naruto bitterly replied.

"What was it like? Having friends, people you found precious?" Namikaze tentatively asked.

"The best thing that ever happened to me." Naruto answered. "I was friends, no, more like brothers with Sasuke. Sakura….she was special to me, a good friend. Kakashi….he was like another father too me, or perhaps a much older brother. _Hinata_ …." He choked.

"Oh…" Namikaze said.

"They were my friends you know." Naruto said, his heart breaking. "Mine." He bared his teeth and stared at the eight year old Namikaze Naruto, who lived for nothing but endless days of confinement and waiting to be put into the Academy. "Your family and my family." He said. "Ours."

"I guess so." Namikaze spoke. "But they're dead—or they will be." Namikaze shook. "But they're not right now."

Naruto nodded. "Well, true but—"

Namikaze lunged forwards and grabbed Naruto's wrist. "Do you trust me?"

"Do I trust myself? Strangely, yes." Naruto answered with a quirked eyebrow.

"Promise me that you'll…no _we'll_ take care of them." Namikaze said, hand on Naruto's wrist. "That _we_ will take care of our family."

"I don't under—"

"Promise!" Namikaze interjected fiercely. "Let's not fail them like before, don't let me fail again!"

"I—" Naruto began, swallowing, doubt within his mind. Synapses splitting apart. "I promise."

"Good." Namikaze said, relaxing slightly. A sword was conjured into the boy's hands.

Naruto blinked, heart stopping. "Wh—what are you doing?"

"Have you noticed something about the mindstream?" Namikaze returned back.

Naruto looked around, before shrugging. "I don't understand, it's just my min—" He paused as if struck by thunder. "Oh."

"Oh indeed."

"This….this is your mindstream!" Naruto all about shouted out. "I—I thought…"

"You thought that this was yours."

"Bu—but how?" He asked, eyes glancing around as he looked at the mindstream.

"This was my body you hopped into. What else did you think would happen?" Namikaze spoke with a smirk. "As you can see, I hold 73 percent of the mindstream." The smile left the boy's lips. "You only have 27."

"So? What's the problem?" Naruto asked softly, though deep down he knew the truth.

"The problem is that we should have fused."

"Fused?" Naruto asked, blinking as a tug went up his spine. As a deep metallic taste gathered in his throat—on his tongue.

"We were meant to become one. But something has stopped the process, we both should have half and half. But the balance is gone and I am the—"

"Dominant owner." Naruto cut in, eyes lighting up in both wonder and shock. "And that shouldn't have been _possible_ —" He cut himself off, shivering. "It's _impossible_."

"What is not possible has happened. Kurama told me what I must do to fix the balance." Namikaze blinked and hefted the sword.

"Then…then that means that sword represents—"

"My dominion." Namikaze stated. "If I stab myself with this sword. I shall give up my dominion and we shall become one."

Naruto faltered. Synapses snapping shut. "But why would you—"

"Because it's my choice." Namikaze said. "We both promised. We shall not let even the stars burning out stop us."

"But…why?" Naruto asked, face pale and his heart stopping.

"Because of family." Namikaze answered simply. "Let's take care of them, find out the truth of everything." The boy paused. "I leave it all to you, or what we will become, once this is all over we'll cease to be and become something different."

Naruto's breath quickened, and his heart gave out. "But—"

"Let's take care of them all, for us." Namikaze said.

Naruto's heart creaked like a knife had slipped into it. "We will. I—I _promise_ —"

Namikaze looked down, bringing down his sword, but he faltered. "You know, I always wondered what it was like for those few Shinobi who lived long enough to commit suicide."

Naruto's entire body shook, his breath halting and his heart thumping slower. Liquids gathered in his onyx orbs—and dropping down his face like rivers of water. He outstretched his hand, hoping to stop him, but was unable to.

"I think I understand, even if a little." The sword began to inch into Namikaze's skin, but the boy faltered slightly again. "A new tomorrow, huh?" Namikaze finally slipped the sword into his belly, and the boy showed no signs of pain. "Let's take care of them," The boy blinked. "Or I'll return and break out of the fusion and kick your ass."

Naruto lifted his hand and cupped the child's cheek as tears slipped from his eyes. "We will not fail." He paused. "I'll make sure _we_ live a very long time."

The boy smiled. "Let's take care of both of our Kurama's." The boy's eyes closed and he vanished into the nothingness from whence they both came.

Naruto looked down into the mindstream of their existence, of existence itself. He didn't smile, but his lips quirked as his body began to vanish in the wind.

He looked back up to see an entire new being in front of him, growing from the ashes of him.

He would create a new tomorrow.

* * *

Naruto's eyes creaked open. Rays of sunlight blasting into his vision from the drawn curtains. The sun burned his eyes, yet gave him comfort. He felt it. Power, unbelievably heavy and curtained endlessly by an unfillable hole. He felt like a different being. Felt like both Uzumaki and Namikaze yet different at the same time.

Unlike Uzumaki Naruto, Namikaze Naruto had been a prodigy, a genius. Though he still had been forced to work harder than anyone else, he had inherited their father's brilliant mind. Polar opposites in a way, Naruto figured, Uzumaki had been a dead last dobe with nothing behind his name. Namikaze had been a genius, perhaps more so than even Minato had been. Yet he had been hated just as all Jinchuuriki.

Being the known son of the Yellow Flash hadn't been a walk in the park. He had lived better then Uzumaki had, though had been forced into hiding thanks to Iwa attempting assassination after assassination.

But that small boy, merely eight years of age, could never bear the cold stares directed his way as he walked down the streets of his home—his village.

Tears—an untold amount, was all that the fused being could remember in the pasts of his original selves.

Naruto pushed all the memories away for now, he couldn't bear to look through them all—there was just too much pain. Too much tears—too much suffering.

He was alive. Alive and well. But they were gone, blown away within the winds of time. And he, as Uzumaki didn't do a thing. Not a thing at all. Because he was weak. He rose so fast that he literally appeared as if he hadn't moved yet, an after image fading away. His hands clenched tight, his nails almost breaking into his skin.

Even now. The clock within his mind ticked away.

 _Tick. Tick. Tick._

It was never ending. An immaculate clock that had started booming in his head ever since he had crossed through time and space. Ever since he had defied the laws of whatever being set it all into motion. He had spat into that entities face, spat at fate to get to the past. To change destiny.

And to tell it to fuck off.

A hand moved over and grasped his shoulder. He jerked, looking up and seeing a face he hadn't seen in a long time.

At least, as Uzumaki that is. Namikaze had seen this person for his entire life, she had been a figure who was like the mother he never had. Though he knew that she got a little cranky when age was mentioned near her. "Tsunade nee-chan?"

The face brightens up. "Hello little Naru-chan."

"Is everything alright?" He asked softly, heart thumping in his chest.

A frown crossed onto Tsunade's face. "Of course kiddo."

So much had changed, so much. He could see it in the way Tsunade acted. He could tell that she was happy. So very happy. It made him feel better, knowing he had failed her and that something had come from it all.

So he smiled, tried to make himself happy as Namikaze had. As Uzumaki had. Probably the smartest thing either of them had done. A smile lights up the world, makes those around you think of you differently. See you differently. See _him_ differently.

But the immaculate smile on his face dropped. It wasn't working anymore. It didn't give him songful whispers of dreams and happiness. His hands shook. Chest caved in. Heart gave out. His breath just stopped. The reality of everything finally settled into his mind like a knife carving out his insides.

"Naruto?"

A voice called out to him, but he didn't heed it. He couldn't heed it. It….it was so dark. He couldn't move. He had lost all sense of self.

"Naruto!"

The fits of shaking had started. He was nothing but a blur of motions. A blur of non-self. His heart pumped fast, too fast. His blood writhed and boiled. His organs screamed at him as his body began to break down into matter.

"Naruto!"

He stopped, coming back to the real world with Tsunade hovering above him in obvious worry.

"What the shit is wrong?"

His heart thundered. "I—I need to get out of here." He breathed—tried to at least. But it was hard, his lungs struggled too hard to allow the suction of breath. His voice was a mere rasp now.

"You're just an eight year old who practically had a panic attack! You are not 'alright' enough for you to be further than five feet from me!" Tsunade roared, hands glaring with chakra.

He dropped back down, eyes clouded over. His face was low and sagging. He felt….nothing besides wishing to be anywhere but in a room with Tsunade. He laughed and laughed. Trying to form a smile again like he always had, hoping that it'd work once more.

It didn't.

So he laughed, laughing through his fear, through the sorrow and pain. Because what else could he do?

Tsunade frowned at him, and attempted to comfort him as she talked with him. "Come on, everything will be alright kiddo." She whispered to him.

He had lost all feeling.

Seconds. Minutes—possibly hours passed by, but he didn't twitch. He didn't listen. He was nothing.

He was a void. Immaculately full of nothing.

The woman tried to smile, but it was full of worry. "Is this room a little bland?" She moved her hand. "Here then." A plant grew in a vase, sprouting a few more—thanks to the nudging hand of Senju Tsunade's **Mokuton**.

* * *

Shimura Danzo stood inside of his bitter rival's office. The Hokage had summoned him without answers. To the aged War-Hawk there was no subtle politics here. This was a reminder of his place in the village and hierarchy of Konoha.

"You have not forgotten our agreement, have you?" Hiruzen finally spoke, his voice rang harsh and deep. This meeting held no false camaraderie, no friendship, or rivalry. This was a reminder of who truly held the power.

"I have not, Hiruzen." Danzo returned with a slight tinge of anger lacing in his voice. He hadn't had to leave the roots of the foundations of Konoha in a long time. Being inside of the top didn't change his opinion on his standing. He was the sword within the foundation that held it up. The Hokage's outstretched hand. As a hand he'd do as the Hokage would ask.

Even if the man was his hated enemy.

"Do not be coy with me!" Hiruzen roared, slamming his right hand onto his oak desk. "I am well aware that you've hidden Root operatives within my own guard. And _that_ boy's own!"

"You know well that my Shinobi are the best that the Black Ops can offer." Danzo stated in an offhand manner as he took a step forward. "As for why they're guarding you. Well, you are an _investment_. A _very_ special _investment_ to me, _Hiruzen_." Danzo paused, pursing his lips. "I always protect my investments."

"And the boy?"

"He's my _grandson_ , I must protect him with all of my might." Danzo stated softly. "Don't worry Hiruzen, I will not break the agreement, the child won't be allowed to be initiated into Root until he's a Chunin."

"Good." Hiruzen spoke. "Don't do anything to break the agreement. _Or_ I will not _hesitate_ to have you _executed_ on the _spot_."

"Don't worry Hokage-sama, I know well the status quo." Danzo smiled slightly. "If you have any orders you wish to give out to me than please, _speak up_."

"The mistake that so many fuelled by emotions make is that they plot in the open." Hiruzen stated, his eyes glancing upwards towards his enemy.

"Trees struck by gods of thunder and lightning. Leaves that writhe in the light as the roots wreathe in the shadows to allow the rest to live." Danzo replied with a smile.

"Then go be a part of your shadows." Hiruzen stated tersely. "Remember, _old friend_. Do not break our agreement. Or I will not _hesitate_."

Danzo didn't smile. He didn't bat an eye. He just responded as he walked out the door. "Very well."

* * *

Naruto sat on his hospital bed. Watching as Tsunade frantically examined him. The much younger and happier Senju woman tried to be as reassuring as possible. Telling him how healthy he was and talking about mundane things.

It didn't work besides give him ire. But he swallowed it, sighing as he subjected himself to her examination. He opened his senses, allowing his sixth sense to allow him knowledge of where everyone was across the village.

The door slammed open, and Sarutobi stepped in, smiling gently with his aged features. "Hello, Naruto-chan."

Naruto smiled, his heart soaring. "Hi Jiji!" He turned his face, it losing its edge slightly, but he schooled his features and allowed his smile to stay. "Danzo-ojiisan." He spoke curtly.

The old War-Hawk smiled. Wait, the monstrous, Shimura Danzo smiled? The Uzumaki in him screamed at him to run—

"It's been a long time, Naruto."

Naruto felt like dying from shock, when memories from Namikaze came flooding back into his head. "It has." He replied as quickly as possible.

"Do you remember anything that could have caused your seal to spike?" Hiruzen finally spoke up, shooting Danzo a look.

Naruto glanced to the side. "No." The smile on his face had dropped, sinking into his skin as if it were never there. "I don't."

"I see." Hiruzen returned intuitively.

"I'm sorry—"

"What's there to be sorry about, Naruto-chan?" A voice crawled into the room, just as a black haired man stepped in.

Naruto smiled, though strained. "Orochimaru-san."

The snake faced Sannin pursed his lips. "You seem normal enough." He leaned down. "It's nice to have you back, kiddo."

"Yes, well, since he seems fine enough I guess we can let him go." Hiruzen lamented. "As long as Tsunade's okay with it." He added.

Tsunade opened her mouth, but closed it, looking back at Naruto with narrowed eyes. "Very well…."

"Good." Danzo stated. "Now, my boy, I must go. I'm sorry, we'll have to catch up at a later date."

Naruto watched as the old War-Hawk left the room, before turning to look back at the others. "So, where's Jiraiya?"

Orochimaru laughed. "Probably off somewhere travelling around the world. He always wanted to do that. And since Minato's death…." The White Snake of Konoha trailed off, actually seeming disturbed by the death of the man who had taken the Hokage hat from him.

"Yes, well. We all know how Jiraiya is." Hiruzen grumbled. "He sent me a message just now, saying he's in Kaminari no Kuni."

Tsunade shook her head. "That teammate of mine. Always getting himself into trouble."

"It's Jiraiya we're talking about here." Orochimaru said with a small smile as he moved his head back and laughed. "I bet he's caused the Third Raikage some ire."

Tsunade's smile dropped. "That dammed pig-headed Raikage. Did you hear that he—" She paused, looking to Naruto.

Naruto couldn't help but smile at the dynamic in front of him. "You can carry on, you know."

"No, this is not the kind of thing we talk about with children around." Hiruzen said.

Naruto sighed, getting up and going out the door, allowing himself to become untraceable as he hanged back and listened in.

Orochimaru pouted. "Do we have to protect the kiddo so much? Can't he just become a Shinobi now?"

Hiruzen looked up with a glare. "You know my argument about this."

The Snake Sannin sighed, sagging down and becoming lanky. "Alright fine." The Snake looked to Tsunade. "What were you about to say?"

Tsunade sighed. "The Raikage decided to break the normal status quo and launched a sneak attack against Mizu, intending to rule it."

Hiruzen shook his head. "Those dammed Raikage's, they're always the same."

"Well, they're all named _A_ after all." Tsunade laughed.

"….I still wonder what was going through the First Raikage's head when he decided that was a good idea." Hiruzen muttered.

"Should we just send _him_ after Jiraiya?" Tsunade smirked.

Hiruzen looked over. "Wouldn't that be overkill?"

"Of course not. That teammate of mine needs a good punch to the jaw from a fellow man. Who better than _him_?" She asked.

Orochimaru shrugged. " _He's_ been out travelling as well though."

" _He's_ back now."

Hiruzen blinked. "What! And you didn't tell me?" He roared.

" _He_ told me not to." Tsunade returned. "You know how _he_ gets."

Naruto blinked. Who the hell were they talking about? He didn't get to finish that line of thought, as a group of Anbu walked by.

Stepping back, he shifted into nothingness and went to his apartment complex. The day was long and the sun high.

He had time to look around and gather as much Intel that Namikaze didn't already know.

* * *

"Shushou."

Hatake Kakashi's head whipped round, seeing the new arrival through his dark grey eyes. "Early as usual, Karasu."

"I must ask, what exactly must I do?"

"You are tasked to be a part of a special unit of which I am part of." Kakashi paused, his lidless eyes seeing more than most. "Our goal? Protect Namikaze Naruto till our last breath."

Karasu lifted his mask of his face. "Very well."

"Good." Kakashi stated, his eyes moving to the left to watch his charge with careful suspicion of any and all subjects near. "Kids' always been smart you know. But I've noticed that he's smarter than I remember…."

Onyx eyes glanced towards Kakashi. "He's been getting smarter?"

Kakashi didn't take his eyes off of the boy. "Yes, at an abnormal rate too."

"How suspicious is this, Inu?"

"I really don't have a clue." Kakashi said with a sigh. "What I do know is that the kid will be put into the Academy soon."

"Is that so?" Karasu replied, his eye's gazing at Namikaze Naruto with interest. "Well, our experiences do shape us. Maybe it's just a phase where he wants to learn? I did something similar at his age."

"Could be just that." Kakashi said. "But as Shinobi, we must see what is underneath the underneath."

* * *

Naruto smiled in his seat. Reading through the book in his hands with care.

' _It was Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara who formed Konoha in their alliance in the turbulent era known as the Warring Clans. Hashirama's renowned Mokuton has been passed down only twice.'_

Someone other than Tsunade had the Mokuton? It might make things a lot easier having the entire Senju Clan behind his back along with two Mokuton users.

His memories as Namikaze were a little hazy when it came to the Senju Clan, but he remembered there being another Senju who would talk with Tsunade sometimes, though that had been a few years ago, when Namikaze was barely six. The man had been nice, but had left to travel the world.

On reflection Naruto realised that the man reminded oddly of Hashirama, just not as bipolar. Then again, no one was.

It was an hour later when he got up and thanked the history teacher. Leaving the area with a smile.

"Hello."

Naruto frowned and turned his head. "Yes?"

Orochimaru walked over, stepping in tandem with Naruto. "How have you been, kiddo?"

"Okay, I guess."

The Snake Sannin raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what everyone says? Where's the originality?" The man said in exasperation.

"It's just a thing we all do, I guess." Naruto shrugged, his mouth quirking.

Orochimau shook his head. "Sad thing, that is."

Naruto blinked, trying to stop a small smile from forming on his lips. Why was Orochimaru so different? He was actually…bearable. "I guess so…"

"Enough of that. I've noticed that you've been quieter than usual. Is something wrong?""

Naruto shook his head. "No, there's just not a lot for me to say."

"I think I can understand that." Orochimaru nodded, pursing his lips. "I'm much the same." The Snake Sannin paused, looking to the side. "You remind me very much of your father, you know."

Naruto blinked, his heart giddy. "Really?"

"Of course," Orochimaru drawled. "Everything is very similar, except the language. Your father was never really prone to swearing."

Naruto shook his head. "I think you must mean that he was awfully polite."

Orochimaru raised an intuitive eyebrow. "Quite the vocabulary you have there."

Naruto didn't bat an eye. "I read a lot."

The man smiled fondly. "Ahh, the task of acquiring knowledge, a good thing to aspire to gain." The man looked down at him. "Just don't ever take that goal to far, kiddo."

Naruto almost stopped in tandem with the wind. Was Orochimaru hinting to what he think he was hinting at? "Of course." He replied quickly, making sure to mask any visible reaction.

Orochimaru stopped and looked at him. "I know that Danzo's been teaching you in secret."

Naruto faked a freeze. "You do?"

"Of course," The Snake drawled. "Show me what you know so I can appeal to a certain someone to allow you entry to the Academy."

"Um…okay." Naruto said with a smile. He put his hands together and began to mold chakra for the first time since fused. He made sure for it to appear at the level Namikaze had been at. It would do him no good if he revealed his true power.

"I'm shocked, you have pretty much perfect control over your chakra already." Orochimaru said. "Very well." The man said as he began to walk, but stopped. "Well, you coming?"

Naruto walked with the Snake of Konoha, a look of suspicion crossing his face, but he let it go the moment it came.

It was an hour later that Naruto finally reached the destination where Orochimaru was taking him. It took him a mere minute to recognise it.

'It's the Nara's compound!'

Regardless, of whether he was happy to see Shikaku and Shikamaru, he knew this was a test. It was mere seconds after that realisation that they walked into the main houses room where Shikaku waited.

"It's good to see you both." Shikaku began in a slow measured drawl.

Naruto closed his eyes and opened them, allowing a small smile to cross his face. "Good afternoon, Shikaku-san."

"I concur with the boy." Orochimaru stated.

"It has certainly been a good day," Shikaku nodded. "The wind is calm and the clouds are many. The walk to get out of bed was almost worth it." He joked. "But the day is still yet done, and I can't help but fear we'll all be tired by the end of this." Shikaku sat down.

They kept silent for some time. Listening to the heart of the wind.

Shikaku retreated back into the shadows, away from the hearth. "For what's it is worth," He began, looking at Naruto. "I am sorry for this village's own inability to prevent nor predict an attack on our home."

Naruto looked up. "What do you—"

Shikaku's fierce gaze met Naruto's. "I'm sorry it fell upon your shoulders to bear the weight of every single living person in our home from simply being born."

Naruto's eyes widened. "My father did what he had to."

Orochimaru laughed. "That's what made that man who he was, I guess."

Shikaku glanced at the Snake Sannin, but turned his eyes back to Naruto. "The Third….is puzzled about this entire fiasco." He began. "I admit to being curious myself about all of that."

"I'd assume that everyone is confused about it." Naruto shrugged. "But I know this meeting isn't about that."

Shikaku's eyes glinted. "Danzo taught you that I presume?"

"Presume nothing." Naruto returned. "But, he may have, or may not have."

"You like your mystery."

"Of course. Keeps things interesting." Naruto replied with a smirk.

"I'd like information on Danzo." Shikaku stated. "Would you perhaps be willing to help me?"

"Why not?" Naruto shrugged, brain trying to figure out what the man was playing at.

"Is it really that easy?" Shikaku asked, eyes glinting in suspicion.

"Why don't you answer that yourself?" Naruto asked lightly with a smirk. He knew Shikaku wanted to slowly approach the entire thing and analyse it. 'You are after all, one of the best strategists in the village. Who else could foresee and plan ahead but you, the Jonin-Commander?"

Naruto knew that he had to put pressure onto Shikaku, even if it was a sword that could slice him in half later. Every Nara worked better under pressure. But he needed to make this man think of everything and anything. Else the intuitive Nara might catch on that something is off about him.

"Troublesome." Shikaku began, sighing. "But wrong. I only plan with war strategies, tactical command and intelligence."

Naruto smiled. "But isn't that what the village wants to do?" He began, slipping in the information the man wanted into a simple discussion. "Danzo has heard rumours that Kumo thinks that we are weak, and that they wish to test their mettle against us." Naruto held high hopes that the Nara would fall into this conversation that he had started to throw him off balance.

"Are you asking for advice on how our manpower is compared to Kumo's, then?" Shikaku replied slowly, as if thinking everything out as if it was a game of Shogi. "Konoha in our current state is strong enough to fight against either Iwa or Kumo." The man stopped, actually smiling slightly. "But none of this is really what you mean, is it? You want me to ask myself how I'd handle being in the shoes of a Kage? Or even Danzo himself?" Shikaku narrowed his eyes, and Naruto was certain that the man hadn't caught on to anything yet.

"Are you asking me whether I want to capitalise on this moment to make a move against the Hawk? Or if we should all band together and fight against our enemies?" The Nara moved back, staring into the clouds with a sigh. "I do not have the answer to this question."

Naruto smiled. "Then you are just going to have to trust me."

Shikaku was silent for a moment as he stared into Naruto's eyes, looking for any weaknesses and lies. But found none. "Very well." He said, nodding to Orochimaru. "I will ask Kakashi to help me enrol you into the Academy. Perhaps the Elder's would give a hand?" He shook his head and sighed.

"Knowing them, they would." Orochimaru finally spoke up. "We have a lot of things to do. Minato once _worked_ for me within _Root_. He even became Danzo's adopted son. But something suspicious happened that day the guardian attacked." The man paused. "Something, abnormal."

A shiver went up Naruto's spine as a metallic taste gathered in his throat. There was one thing he had ignored since he had got here.

"Reports speak of a masked man behind the scenes controlling the beast with unimaginable power." Orochimaru shook his head. "It's said that he goes by the name…."

Naruto's heart shook, knowing the words he had hoped he wouldn't hear. He knew in his heart the reality of the situation.

" _Tobi_."

* * *

 **AN.**

 **I must thank my good friend Infamous Storm for patiently helping me, and just being there for me. He's a good friend and a good Beta. I wouldn't have managed to attempt this story without his guidance.**

 **Thank you.**

 **To the rest of you readers, I hope you enjoy the story, and perhaps if you feel like it, could you perhaps leave a review? I'd like to hear what you liked and maybe didn't like. I accept constructive criticism.**


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